Order 20 of the National Court Rules 1983 is headed Infants and Families.
Rules 1 and 2
This Order is subject to the Matrimonial Causes Act 1963 and the Matrimonial Causes Rules.
“The Act” means the Infants Act 1956.
“Parent”, in relation to an infant, includes a person at law liable to maintain the infant or entitled to his custody.
“Person” includes a scholastic or charitable institution.
Order 20 is procedural and expressly subordinate. The substantive law about children in Papua New Guinea now sits largely in the Lukautim Pikinini Act 2015 and, for juvenile offenders, the Juvenile Justice Act 2014; family proceedings between spouses are governed by the Matrimonial Causes Act and the Matrimonial Causes Rules 2022.
Order 20 supplies the National Court’s own machinery where those instruments do not.
Rule 3
(2) Where proceedings under section 4 of the Act in respect of the infant are pending in the Court —
(a) the application shall be made by motion in the proceedings; and
(b) notice of the motion shall, unless the Court otherwise orders, be served on his parents or on the guardian of his person.
(3) Where no proceedings are pending —
(a) proceedings for the order shall be commenced by originating summons; and
(b) his parents or the guardian of his person shall, unless the Court otherwise orders, be made defendants.
Either as persons served with the motion, or as defendants. The Court may order otherwise, but that requires a reason.
Note the width of “parent” in Rule 2: it includes a person at law liable to maintain the infant or entitled to his custody — so a person with custody who is not a biological parent is caught.
Division 3
Rule 4 — in Division 3, “the Act” means the Adoption of Children Act 1968, and “child”, “applicant” and “Director” have the same meaning as they have in the Act.
Rule 5 — proceedings in the Court under the Act shall be commenced by an originating summons under Order 4 Rule 25.
Rule 6 — an application for an adoption order shall be made by filing an originating summons in Form 102 not joining any person as defendant.
Rule 6 requires the summons to be filed not joining any person as defendant — unusual, and deliberate.
Rule 7: a notice of application shall be in Form 103, and notwithstanding Order 2 Rule 27(1)(b)(ii) the backsheet of a notice of application for an adoption order shall not bear the title of the proceedings.
Both provisions protect the privacy of the child and the parties. See confidentiality of adoption records.
Rule 8 — the plaintiff may include in his summons an application for an order that the Court dispense with the giving of a notice of application for an adoption order.
Rule 9 — evidence in support of an application for an adoption order shall include evidence of the matters specified in Sections 3 and 9 of the Act, and the Rule shall not be taken as limiting any of the provisions of the Act.
Rule 10 — an application to dispense with the consent of a person under section 21 of the Act.
Rule 11 — discharge of an order. Rule 12 — applications under Section 39 of the Act. Rule 13 — the adoption order itself.
The Adoption of Children Act (Chapter 275) supplies the substantive requirements, including consent and the matters the Court must be satisfied of. Rule 9 requires evidence of those matters, so read the Act before drafting the affidavit.
Elsewhere in the Rules
Order 5 Division 2 — a child sues by a next friend and defends by a guardian at law. See how a child sues and next friends and guardians.
Order 19 Division 4 — administration during minority, elected guardians and assigned guardians; and under Order 19 Rule 5(1)(c) the Registrar may exercise the Court’s powers in assigning guardians of minors.
Order 22 Rule 63 — where the Court appoints a solicitor as guardian at law or next friend of a disabled person, it may order that the costs of performing those duties be paid by the parties to the proceedings or any of them or out of any fund in Court in which the disabled person is interested.
Habeas corpus for a child. Order 17 Rule 1(1)(b): where the application is made on behalf of an infant, it must be made to a Judge otherwise than in court. See applying for habeas corpus.
Money recovered for a child. Under Order 5, money recovered for a disabled person is ordinarily paid into Court rather than paid out, and the Court may direct how it is dealt with.
Sources
- National Court Rules 1983 — O 2 r 27; O 4 r 25; O 5 Div 2; O 17 r 1; O 19 Div 4, r 5; O 20 rr 1–13, Forms 102, 103; O 22 r 63
- Adoption of Children Act (Chapter 275)
- Matrimonial Causes Act (Chapter 282); Matrimonial Causes Rules 2022
- Lukautim Pikinini Act 2015; Juvenile Justice Act 2014
The Infants Act 1956 is not available on PacLII. Order 20 refers to the Adoption of Children Act 1968; the consolidated Act is at the link above.
Before relying on anything here, read the current text of the National Court Rules 1983 and check for later amendments. If a decision matters to you, get advice — start with the Office of the Public Solicitor, or find a firm in the law firms directory.